Our most critically important forest management decisions depend on informed decisions adjusted for observed trends and uncertainty.

It is often said that the only certainty is uncertainty. And in the face of uncertainty, it always pays to be careful. When I first became a professional forester in 1974, “climate change” was rarely, if ever, discussed. As the years advanced, we came to see that when it came to climate change and our forests the biggest issue in British Columbia was water. Just like real estate is all about location, location, location, climate change in B.C. is all about water, water, water….Over the past decade and more, we’ve seen what this has come to mean, both in older forests and in the younger forests we planted to replace the older forests we cut down. While we worry with justification about the older forests we continue to lose, there is much to worry about with the younger forests we are inheriting.